balthazar

Agree also: B-pillars are much more disturbing than that picture.

Yeah, but he might've snuck a 3.8T between the fenders when you weren't looking. >>"You're no better than the ricers and import humpers that write off everything domestic as crap."<< The popular perception is so horrifically one-sided than indeed I am better for attempting to balance it, because it does not reflect reality.

And so... the nitpicking begins.

Yeah- thanks, I had NO IDEA what security cameras were about. But if you don't believe there's abuse & misuse in the security industry... it is to laugh, long & heartily. But to use your definition- Sixty8 should be in the 'clear': his intent was merely admiring an attractive woman, not planning an abduction or even profiting from the picture. IMO, it's only creepy because it was Sixty8, not what he did. (Jest jestin', 68!!!) Seriously, I believe it's only the camera's proximity to what seems to be an impervious environment (on the road, at speed). The shot is anonymous & non-intrusive. Again- no big deal. Thru a house window or walking behind someone would be much creepier. But we all have differeing defintions of 'creepy', needless to say.

I've never seen a Pontiac later than '68 wearing 8-lugs (last year they were offered), but there's really no "conversion" required. You need the hubs & drums: as long as the car you're putting them on has the same size spindles & compatable bearings, you're gold.nikivee: I like your collection! I currently have a 64-2957 and a 64-2369. I've owned 7 full-size Pontiacs between '64 and '66. Love 'em- the best of the '60s!

How did I know? Why put money into another's pocket's at $75/hr when you can do it yourself for free? I saved myself over $1000 last fall doing a brake job on my truck by myself. Nope: no hoist, either (tho I do have a pole barn). If a person has the money to fund the loan department, the service department and the state tax coffers by buying a new car every time the warranty dries up and eating the 60% depreciation- I guess that's their prerogative. But that's FAR more wasteful than a clear 6" around an engine underhood, wouldn't you agree?

Oh, sorry, your post just came off that way.Personally, I don't maintain a lot of one-way friendships, but I seldom lose touch with friends. Most I have I've had for many many years. I am a pretty good judge of character.

OG- I can relate: Dad had a commuter Dodge Colt years ago that was the same size (156"). I would never drive a deathtrap so tiny unless I was maybe in Wyoming.

Sure, and you worked on it all the time, right? Hell, I had a hell of a time just changing spark plugs on my '73 Charger Rallye 440 Magnum because of the big upswept manifolds- had to do it from below the car... and a '73 is a big car. You must've at least looked underhood of a recent mid-size transverse V-6 car, right? Yikes. Obviously there's a 'middle range' between the engine comparment of a '65 Impala with a 327 and just about any recent car you care to mention. Unfortunately, no one is building that today. I know most car owners today know more about woofers & tweeters than what/ where their spark plugs are/may be, but I don't want to play if all I have to do is pay. Ya get me?

You didn't think about this V6 Firebird: Yeah, that's what I thought. More practical, handles much better, much faster, worth much more, U.S.-legal. Oh... how sad.

Stance is nice, and the twin sunroofs make a lot more sense that the singular 'coin slot' on the maxima. That said; I really don't care for it at all. Lot of seemingly arbitrary details that never get cohesive for me. Yet it still manages to be another supporting example of the homogenization of modern upscale design.

Awful goofy-looking small car. Awkward emblem is luxury-car gigantic. I never thought toyota would be one-upped as far as getting the headlights as close to the A-pillar as possible, but here it is, unfortunately. 4-dr seems to be designed around a mandate to use the 2-dr roof stamping; most in the small car segment tend to try & maximize interior room instead of arbitrarily compromising it. If it wasn't for the stylistic goofiness of it, it would quickly get lost in the roiling sea of compacts. As that is, I don't see 'weirdness' garnering much marketshare from the established models.

So... about once per year you have to disassociate with a friend(s) because they do not fufill your 'friendship bylaws'? Why never any middle ground, Croc?

Plenty of counterpoints went completely unanswered and unsupported too. I suppose that's not "trolling" from that side of the table tho, is it? Because those counterpoints were all iron-clad and above reproach, not emotional & unilateral rejections saturated with personal politics.

random observations counter to popular perception: Wow- the mazda sure looks incredibly segmented & dated in those mug shots above! I thought this was supposed to be some sort of darling to FWD enthusiasts, a real hot commodity? Blorf- I just tossed onto my own shoes. Clean it up already! Looks like honda has some real mediocrity to work out in the brakng & handling departments... and what's with the accord outhandling the tsx?? Aren't these two trampling all over each other's markets & sales? I'd have a lot more comments if these KB-intense pages would all load for me...

Thanks again. Day 2 under the new number and it's settling in OK. I do feel more pressure to get back to work on my motor vehicle projects again, which of course is a good thing. I have commited to reuniting the body & chassis on the '59 2 weeks from now (co-ordinating a few pairs of helping hands). Anyone want to come over and play line worker for an afternoon??

Whaa- of course they were. Right from the beginning the Camaro was marketed as "the Hugger" (and no: that was not a reference to hybrid tech and/or trees). I have an article in my files on a '65 GTO turning 1.03 Gs. A stock s2000 outhandling a modified Camaro "by far"? I completely doubt it- the aftermarket for the A- and F-Bodies is tremendous and continually growing, and the basic handling hardware on the Camaro/Firebird is completely competent as a baseline. Fijan-- sorry buddy; sometimes the winter doldrums prompts us UV-deficiant car nuts to jump snarling at even the hint of a good argument. I completely understood the generality of the jpg above.

Thing of it is: in the "information age" most of us (tho prolly not WMJ up in the hills) are being photographed & filmed all the time: toll booths, drive thrus, banks, supermarkets, stores of all kinds, work, sporting events, etc, etc, etc, etc. I don't care about the 'legitimacy' of those instances; I'd prefer not to be recorded anywhere, but that's the nature of modern times and you cannot escape it. Add to that camera phones & camera iPods and camera sneakers and an internet where -for some inexplicable reason- everone seems driven to POST pics of what is usually the most mundane & utterly boring (myspace seems a handy example)... and everybody is taking everybody else' pic. Taking a clandestine pic of another motorist seems like absolutely no big deal to me whatsoever.

Much easier & cheaper to build a modified Camaro that can destroyed a modified s2000 in every catagory. Too much listed above is completely true (HP/L vs. HP/lb)

Well now... I'm gonna need more specifics on those 2 cars next time you go back. There are a few little things I'm still looking for...

Need to worry that the chinese makes will be competitive? Not initially. Worry that they'll be cheap and make inroads because people buy cheap crap all the time (look at how hyundai got going here)? Yes, absolutely. Worry that they'll make decent stuff eventually and really grab marketshare? Yes again. Hate the fact that they are even allowed in the U.S. market in the first place? Absolutely again. Hate the inevitable industry articles that'll bemoan the unavoidable marketshare slip of FoMoCo & GM because of a never-ending flood of foreign brands meanwhile NEVER attributing that slide to more competition and the very nature of statistics that compute marketshare? Absolutely cubed.

Thanks for the well-wished, guys. Yea Razor- I was messin' around with a japanese ho all day... an Hitachi EX-100 track excavator. I prefer the dozer in general (Komatsu D37P wide track)- I like to make things neat. I also run a skid steer (New Holland LS170) & back hoe (Ford 555D) when the job calls for it. I missed the reference: "F13"....?

That really is a truely dumbass comment. Where there a bunch of chinese cars there that really wowed her? Or is she just baa-ing along with the rest of the sheep and assuming because it comes from over the Magic Ocean Waves that it's flat out & amazingly "competitve" by default? You disgruntled Michiganers: find out what she drives. Personally, everything I've every held in my hands that wasn't literally 'china' has broken in 1/100th of it's expected lifespan or been defective from the git go. My sons know from experience not to get upset when something they have breaks... if it says 'Made in China' on the bottom.

I have no earthly idea if this poor (can't afford new pants??) woman actually drives this '57 Chevy, but then again, I don't care.

>>"...116 to 118 inch wheelbase and an overall length in the mid 200's."<< 'mid 200s' would be about 250", no? I like my car's stats: wheelbase: 123", overall: 217". Loads of room and no dreaded center console! I had a car for a few years, about the size you advocate (whl: 113, ovr: 201)- much smaller interior- small trunk, no like. >>"you can still see plenty of tarmac around all sides of the 90 degree spacehog engine"<< Now, Reg- if you want to talk about "spacehog" engines, you simply CANNOT overlook your beloved OHC jobs! Really really tight engine comparments are for those interested in paying $75-100/hr service department rates. Those of us who know the business end of a ratchet wrench like to be able to get a hand & partial forearm down to -God forbid!- change a radiator hose or something. nissan stuffed their oil filter between the engine & firewall on the older sentra 4-banger: you have to jack the car up high & get completely under it to change the frickin' oil. Yeah- that's really worth another half-inch of leg room. Come to think if it, if the filter was in a decent location to begin with, they actually MAY have been able to get another half inch of leg room!